Invasion of mind sappers

A disquieting meditation on teenage fantasies in the tradition of Heavenly Creatures and The Miracle, Swain's first full-length graphic novel tells the story of Dai, Helen, and Ivan, three friends who believe that the earthquake that rocked their hometown was caused by — yes — a crashlanding UFO, survived only by their temporary headmaster. Are they right, or is the truth even stranger? Swain's brutally honest depiction of small-town life and her powerfully forthright graphic style create a bruising, harrowing masterwork.

"[Swain's] scrupulous composition, textured line, sparing words, preference for the understated, the pictorially unusual, the oddly comical, the suggestion of greater histories, work toward a narrative where the mood is palpable and preeminent." – The Comics Journal